


Politics of Division

by NaraMerald



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Aftermath of Torture, Aftermath of Violence, Angst, Discrimination, Feminist Themes, Morality, Politics, fear mongering
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-11-08
Updated: 2018-07-20
Packaged: 2018-08-29 21:09:27
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,646
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8505445
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NaraMerald/pseuds/NaraMerald
Summary: When the Wizengamot becomes progressively more conservative, the Golden Trio’s relationships are strained in a way they never expected.





	1. 1st step

**Author's Note:**

> (Because I always thought Hermione was too good for Ron.)

**1st step**

It’s a slippery slope. One minute, it’s just one step, then suddenly, the end of the road. 

Truth be told, Hermione has never felt any particular affection for Slytherin. Most of the students she’s met from Slytherin have been distant, apathetic, rude, malicious or violent to her. Not all of them attacked her directly or indirectly, no, but not one of them made an obvious stand to help her. 

Hermione can’t abide bystanders. It was drilled into her, at her muggle primary school. _Don’t be a bystander._ Later, as she matured, she internalised this viewpoint and reworded it to Edmund Barton’s famous quote: “Evil triumphs when good men do nothing”. Well, she didn’t know how good any of the Slytherins were, but all of them, to her knowledge, sure as shit did nothing when she was being called Mudblood, when she was running for her life, when she was being tortured on the floor of the Malfoy Manor… 

She takes a deep breath; mentally steps sideways. She is busy- she is head girl, this year, her 8th year, and hopefully her final year of schooling. She has homework to do. So she doesn’t think any more on it. 

It begins slowly, small, a tiny spark of something she doesn’t identify at the time. Someone suggests a register of those who fought in the war- and which side they fought on. It seems reasonable. It is reasonable, she feels. She ignores it. 

**2nd step**

She looks at the Daily Prophet and her mind whirls furiously. **“Warbecks seeks government registration of all Slytherin Students”**. She feels uncomfortably conflicted. Her rational mind asks why all Slytherins should be identified. A dark part of her answers that most Slytherins fought for the Dark Lord. A dark part of her answers that this way, they can be prepared for next time, watch for it. For a split second, she thinks _they deserve it._

Her thinking catches up with her immediately. She’s too smart for the other half of her not to immediately pick up on it. Prejudice. _How would you feel if this was the muggle registration act?_ She does not even try to answer that it is different. Registration of all who fought with Voldemort is one thing. Payment, consequences for their crimes. But not all Slytherins fought. Yes, few, if any, Slytherins helped them. But then again, she doesn’t hear a whole lot of brave deeds from Cormac McLaggen either- maybe because he pretty much sat out the war. So it would be hypocritical of her to target only Slytherin bystanders. 

And future Slytherins? Her mind immediately goes to two different places, simultaneously.   
1\. You can’t judge an individual by a group. You can’t judge a person by their house.   
2\. _They’re all evil._

Hermione has known she has these prejudices. She thought that as a survivor… somehow she was entitled to have these dark thoughts, these worries, these whispers in her mind. Now when she looks at her answers and weighs them with the same logic she applies to other things, she finds herself unsatisfied. 

She is prejudiced. 

She recoils from the term, from being the very thing she fought so hard against. She wonders how it colours her everyday interactions. What else has she missed? Are there friendships she has spurned, unwittingly or otherwise, sheerly due to house? And another concern… is she missing other things… like the bullying that happened to Muggleborns… because of it? 

She and Neville haven’t noticed anything… but … both of them are Gryffindors. Normally the Heads are selected from different houses. She tucks this thought to the back of her mind, to continue to tease it out. And she resolves to watch very, very carefully. 

**3rd step**

The prefects meeting goes poorly. How could it not? Blaise Zabini and Daphne Greengrass, the Slytherin Prefects, bring up the Slytherin Register. And Ernie McMillan is immediately in favour. 

“So none of you will support the Slytherin students then?” Blaise growls. 

“The fact is, Voldemort founded his army on your house. We’ve lost family due to Slytherins… it makes sense,” Ernie says belligerently. It’s like they’re playing angel and devil on her shoulder and voicing her every thought. 

“And you, Headboy? Headgirl?” Daphne challenges, spots of angry colour high in her cheeks. Hermione opens her mouth, looking at Neville, but she’s interrupted. 

“And what was the balance of the houses, on He Who Must Not Be Named’s side?” Su Lin asks, dispassionately. The answer is clear to all and Blaise and Daphne press their lips together tightly. 

But Hermione’s head is whispering Peter Petigrew, the Gryffindor traitor who sentenced his friends to death. It’s whispering Narcissa Malfoy, who surely turned the tide in the war, love for her son allowing her to lie for Harry. It’s reminding her of Percy Weasley, remorseful, but a puppet, a ministry mouthpiece, too weak to show leadership, not brave enough to question, to step up, to protect others. It’s whispering Severus Snape, that miserable bastard who sentenced himself to a life of despair and ultimately, died for all of them. And known to few, Regulus Black, who was only able to grow up and understand the significance of his decisions far too late. 

No, the balance of the houses, Hermione finds, was not at all as clear as one might think. She looks at Neville. 

“Please stay back after the meeting,” Hermione requests of Blaise and Daphne. There’s no doubt that most of the students feel she’s about to reprimand them. 

“We’ll move on to the next item,” she says without emotion, and it’s a contrast to the uncomfortable feelings churning around her stomach. 

**4th step**

Neville waits with her, after the meeting. Dean and Parvati, Su Lin and Rowan all go, chattering about various things. Hermione thinks they deliberately avoid looking in the corner where the negativity is so palpable she can practically see it. Cho goes casting a worried eye towards them, but ultimately turns away. Susan looks like she’s thinking carefully, lingering, looking at Blaise and Daphne consideringly, like she’ll find them again later. The door closes, and Blaise and Daphne wait. Blaise’s arms are crossed. Daphne’s arms are braced. They have the pinched, defiant look of those facing certain rejection. 

Neville looks to her. 

“Please tell me more,” is what Hermione says. Part of her enjoys the look of shock on their faces at her willingness to listen. The other part of her listens as they talk about state-sanctioned bullying. 

“Maybe you haven’t realised, but there are clear connections,” Daphne explains grimly. 

“When they make every Slytherin, past and present, register, the implication is that they are dangerous… bad…” Daphne has a faraway look in her eyes. Her fist is clenched. Now Hermione knows there is more to this story- maybe they (she) didn’t know it, but incidents have clearly happened. 

“And if Slytherins are bad, they are fair target for everyone else in the school… despite the fact that they have committed no crime… or are too young to defend themselves…” she continues bitterly. 

Hermione understands, to an extent, sympathises even. But she needs to say this. 

“I wonder how that must feel,” Hermione says, sarcastically, but not unkindly. Blaise looks unsurprised but Daphne colours. She must have forgotten Hermione is a ‘mudblood’. Hermione’s smile twists into a bit of a grimace, and she sees Neville sitting silent. 

“Even more reason then for you to support those students…” Blaise argues. Hermione has to give him points for logic. She nods. 

“It concerns me that innocent students are being treated as criminals,” Neville says firmly, and Daphne collapses minutely in relief. Blaise remains wary. That's okay. Hermione remains wary too. 

“If you want my support, then I want something from you,” she states, and sees Neville twist in surprise, looking at her. 

“Name it,” Blaise says, eyeing her intently. She’s one of the Golden Trio; her words have weight in the political arena. Not as much of course, as Ron, or Harry, because she’s muggleborn and she’s a woman, (and her hackles rise again just thinking of this) but she’s still important to have. 

“Slytherin students need to be clear about their beliefs. I will support students who are being marginalised because of their house. But then they need to be responsible with their actions and their words. If I am defending a Slytherin and reiterating that they are just as good as any other witch or wizard, I expect the same. I will not defend someone who will later go on to claim their superiority over Muggleborns or Witches and Wizards with magical creature bloodlines,” Hermione states. Neville looks considering. 

Blaise looks blank. Daphne chews her lip. It is as she thought. 

“The existence of such superiority groups is no secret,” Hermione sighs. “I know some Slytherins do believe Muggleborns are worth less. But I do not want to be lied to about the ideas coming out of Slytherin, even if I disagree with them. I know some Slytherins are… more progressive. So those are the Slytherins I will support. I will not budge from these lines,” Hermione states flatly. She did not fight a war to pander to bigots. 

“So make it known that I will fight for equality- but only true equality. Slytherins are of course included- but the expectation is they are fighting for equality too.” Hermione states, and finds Neville nodding consideringly. And if they’re really going to fight this, they need to fight on two fronts- externally, and internally. They need to know what’s really being said in Slytherin, not some sweetened version. 

Blaise can’t help himself. 

“Maybe you would fight for it anyway,” he says coolly. Daphne flicks her eyes to him, agitated that he is risking her agreement. Neville’s face hardens but Hermione simply pushes her sleeve up. 

Blaise and Daphne lean forward slightly, struggling to see the word “Mudblood” where it is scarred into her arms. She sees them recoil when they understand. Blaise looks up at her, ready to speak, but Hermione is done. She is so, so done here. 

“Maybe,” she says coldly, and then without another word, she walks out. Neville flanks her, but says nothing. One thing about Neville, she thinks, is that he’s great with support when it’s needed. Facing Voldemort and slaying Nagini has given him the confidence he sorely needed. He seems to just know what is needed in any given situation. Maybe he always did and she just didn’t see it. 

They’re approaching their common room when Neville says something that makes her half laugh, half cry. 

“I thought you were done with wars.” 

She did too.


	2. 5th step

**5th step**

Someone brings it up in the Gryffindor common room. She knew it was coming, but hoped she’d have more time to plan. 

“It’s prejudiced,” she says coolly, wishing Neville were here, and not in their shared common room. 

“What?” Seamus turns around in his seat. 

“Just like every Gryffindor is different, every Slytherin is different. And it’s not fair to punish someone for a crime they haven’t committed,” Hermione says plainly. The others in the room watch her uneasily. Uneasy is bad- it means that they are disagreeing with what she’s saying, even if they aren’t voicing it. 

“But… it’s not a punishment… they just have to be watched…” Parvati retorted, rubbing the purple friendship bracelet around her wrist. Every Gryffindor knows Lavender gave her that bracelet, just like every Gryffindor knows Lavender was killed in battle. 

“If you do that, you treat them like a criminal for a crime they have not committed,” Hermione begins. 

“Hey, Mione,” Ron interjects gently, interceding, “maybe this is a discussion for another time. We should probably be a bit sensitive.” 

Hermione stares at Ron for a moment. She wants to laugh hysterically at the hypocrisy of Ron, _Ron_ being the ‘sensitive’ one. Then she decides she can’t win, not today. She doesn’t have the people skills to articulate her point without making enemies. But she’s done coddling bigots, even if they come from her own house. She leaves without another word. 

 

**6th step**

The problem, Hermione knows, is how to articulate her arguments. She needs to make it clear that bigotry against Slytherins is the same as bigotry against Muggleborns. If they are impacting individuals’ lives negatively without a reason such as a crime, it’s the same damn thing. 

She needs them to understand that if they can’t stand up for Slytherins because it is morally right, how could she trust them to stand up for Muggleborns in the future? If it is not a popular cause, what about the rights of Witches? She’s heard the rumours about those Marriage bills floating around the Wizengamot. 

To Hermione, the equation is simple. If they truly believe in equality, they believe in equality for all. Otherwise, no matter how much they like to delude themselves, they don’t actually believe in equality, because equality is for everyone, not just the people you like. 

Even if sometimes, she hates it. 

It’s a bitter pill to swallow, but Hermione likes to think she’s honest with herself. Most of the time, anyway. 

**7th step**

“You calmed down, yet?” Ron asks her. 

“Calm has nothing to do with it. My logic and my argument won’t change.” She says simply, unflinchingly. She’s not going to make any friends with this stance. But fuck it, she’s tired. She’s not debating this again. 

“Well I think you need to consider people’s feelings,” Ron begins, annoyed. She understands. It’s hard, people died. Her friends died. 

“Ron, it is nothing to do with people’s feelings. It’s about treating everyone equally. No one is denying that there were bad Slytherins. What we are saying is that you need proof of a crime to punish someone, and not everyone committed that crime,” she repeats. 

“Oh yeah? Says here that 65% of Slytherins in the last 2 decades were connected to You Know Who,” a younger student named Derek argues. 

“Where?” she asks. It’s a mistake. 

“Daily Prophet,” he shows her. 

“Yes, such a reputable source,” she says drily, looking over at Harry. He meets her eyes briefly, then looks away. He’s wrestling with his own conscience. Harry did always prefer straightforward issues. 

No one else appears to notice the sarcasm in this statement. 

“Say you’re right. It still leaves 35% of innocent Slytherins being punished for a crime they didn’t commit,” she repeats, in what she feels is a patient way. 

“Innocent Slytherins… is there such a thing?” Cormac jokes and there’s a few titters of laughter. This snaps the last threads of Hermione’s temper. 

“Probably more likelihood than seeing you on the battlefield,” she snaps back, outraged by his hypocrisy. Cormac is taken aback. The laughter stops abruptly, as if she’s committed some great faux-pas. 

“Hermione, that is out of line,” Ron says to her. 

“Is it? Trampling over people’s rights and making snide remarks is cool, but if I do the same, suddenly I’m bad?” she shoots back. 

“People had reasons not to be fighting… I don’t know if you noticed but some of us lost people in the battle…” Ron says, mouth hard. 

Hermione goes white. Yes, her parents are alive. Somewhere. Unlike Fred. 

No, they will never recognise their daughter again. 

Ron opens his mouth. Harry looks at her. 

But she’s done here. She’s so, so done. 

She walks out, and there’s silence in her wake. 

And then she goes to her room, and she cries, and cries, because she’s still fighting a war, but this time, she’s all on her own. 

**8th step**

Neville is the best co-Head ever. When she comes down the next morning, her hands her a biscuit and a steaming mug of coco and then they just sit, in silence. 

Finally she gives. 

“Why don’t they understand that it’s wrong? In the last war Muggleborns were the most targeted group, but if I can get past it, why can’t they?” She rails. 

“Hermione… you can be very black and white. When you commit, you commit 100%. And many people find it difficult to face the hard things about their life… themselves…” Neville begins calmly. 

“But isn’t that life? Isn’t it your duty as a person to consider your morals and own up to the consequences that they have?” Hermione slams her fist on the table, then wills herself to calm down. It’s not Neville’s fault. 

He can’t really offer her anything, and Hermione wouldn’t be comforted by lies even if he tried. When she goes down to breakfast, she sits next to Daphne, to her visible surprise, and makes polite, meaningless conversation as whispers roll through the school. Some Slytherins glare at her, and she glares right on back. 

She’s not frightened of them. But she is frightened of the future. Because if they can register Slytherins, there’s no telling who’s next.


	3. 9th Step

**9th step**

Blaise and Daphne update them, surprisingly including Susan Bones. 

“So it’s like this. Three factions… one faction are completely unrepentant for the war and would fight for Voldemort if he were alive. They’re stupid, immature idiots and they’re mostly those two young for the war. The kind of kids whose parents tell them stories of so-called glory days…” Blaise says more bluntly than she thought him capable of. 

“But, a lot of others are open to the idea of equality,” Daphne says, which is a hell of a lot different than “pro-equality” but Hermione will take what she can get. 

“Who are the third faction?” Susan asks shrewdly. 

“Us,” Blaise says honestly. Hermione isn’t quite sure what he means. 

“We’re not all innocent, but we understand the Dark Lord was wrong. We waited, and we watched, or some of us were on the wrong side, but now we don’t support him. But we may not always make it clear,” Blaise says. 

Hermione turns this over in her head. This is… to be expected. 

She looks at Neville and Susan, who look back at her equally grimly. 

No rest for the wicked. 

 

**10th step**

An article in the Daily Prophet shows graphic post war images- the infamous shot of Colin Creevy’s corpse juxtaposed with Bellatrix Lestrange’s shot in Death Eater robes, and inset, a school photo of Lestrange waving her Slytherin scarf. A note down the bottom mentions Neville’s parents, and he’s on edge all morning. 

It’s there that they bump into a Slytherin girl running- who actually sees their Gryffindor scarves and backs away from them instinctively, before they see the chasing students- second years. Hermione is grim as she takes 100 points from Gryffindor, 25 each, and feels progressively more grim as she considers the surprise on the Slytherin’s face. 

They’re close enough to the Great Hall that the whole thing becomes a spectacle, especially when someone is stupid enough to mention the Longbottoms. 

“Why are you taking points off? They tortured your parents!” a Gryffindor kid yells at him. Neville goes white. His hands shake in rage, and the Gryffindor students take a step back. Neville strides towards them, and they back themselves right into the hall. 

“My parents,” Neville begins, clearly enough that the sound carries into the silence, “are not cheap talking points.” 

“My parents,” he gains momentum, “were aurors, who followed the law, and punished criminals, not the innocent.” 

His voice rings stridently throughout the hall. When he finishes, it’s unexpectedly quite, though everyone hears. 

“My parents, would not appreciate being an excuse for bullying. They’re worth more than that.” 

And, tears streaming openly down his face, Neville leaves the hall. Hermione admires his bravery once again. 

She checks that Dean follows up with an anti-bullying talk. He does. 

 

**11th step**

Hermione and Neville speak to the Slytherins. They address a silent, wary, if not outright hostile common room filled with watchful eyes. Truth be told, it’s unnerving. 

But they have a point to get across. 

She stands there and shows a photo of people she says are her parents. It’s a lie. They aren’t her parents- some random image of an older couple. She isn’t stupid- she’s fighting for the Slytherins but she doesn’t trust them- certainly not all of them. 

She holds up her fake photo and she talks honestly about her parents. About the opportunities they gave her. About their love for her and their support. About her feelings of amazement upon entering the wizarding world. She shows more emotion for those ten minutes than she has in the last ten weeks. 

Even if some of them are sneering, they are all listening. One of the girls looks like she’s holding back tears. 

And then she rolls up her sleave and she talks about discrimination, equality, and the very real impact that small things, words, actions… can have. 

Neville talks about his parents. About them having the courage to do the right thing, even when it was difficult. About having friends, allies and standing up for what was right. About the costs, when people were divided. 

Everyone is silent. Hermione is surprised and impressed, until she sees Blaise discreetly has his wand out. She thinks then, it’s for the best that some of them don’t have the ability to reply. They leave. The impact, is unknown. Daphne’s face, for once, is blank. 

 

**12th step**

Hermione watches for it, because she knows what to look for. The change in language, the change in tone. 

“Snakes…” someone mutters dismissively. Because Snakes aren’t people. If you call someone a snake, they’re not human, not a witch or a wizard, so all kinds of insults and jokes are okay to make. 

“Slippery…” they say in disgust. 

“Never trust a snake…”

She monitors the hospital wing, and there’s only a small increase. She worries that they’re treating themselves instead of going to the hospital wing. 

She begins writing, but as it turns out, she’s a little too late.

**Author's Note:**

> Dedicated to my friends and allies of all races, genders, sexual orientations, visa statuses (or lack thereof), mental and physical states. 
> 
> If you are reading this, understand this is happening all over the world right now. Please apply this logic (and some empathy) to others. I try my best to practise what I preach. 
> 
> Remember, _“Evil triumphs when good [people] do nothing”_.


End file.
